Hibs 3 FC Luzern 1

On a big European night, the boys stood up to be counted and delivered against an impressive opponent that came to Edinburgh to attack and entertain.

Joe Newell opened the scoring 19 seconds into the second half only for Ismajl Beka to level soon after.

We would not be denied victory and Dylan Vente notched us ahead on his debut before substitute Jordan Obita grabbed a third late on to give us a cushion going into the second leg in Lucerne.

New signing Vente was thrown straight into the side as Lee Johnson opted for a bold, attacking XI for the crucial first leg.

The gaffer made three changes to the side defeated by St Mirren. Out went Christian Doidge, Josh Campbell and Allan Delferrière to be replaced by Vente, Adam Le Fondre and Lewis Miller.

The noise around the stadium at kick-off was deafening: an electric atmosphere that only a European night under the lights can create.

We went with a 4-4-2 formation with Newell and Dylan Levitt sitting in front of the back four to offer protection against the counterattack, while Elie Youan and Martin Boyle were given the freedom to support the front two.

Despite our best efforts to get at our opponents from that start, it was Luzern that fashioned the first chance of the evening when Teddy Okou got in behind Miller on our right and his angled drive was pushed away by David Marshall at full stretch.

The opening quarter-of-an-hour was played at a frantic pace with play raging from one end to the other.

Our first chance of the game came via a Boyle volley on the edge of the area that was charged down by the visitors. That would be a common feature of the game as defenders put their bodies on the line time and again.

The pace of Okou was a constant threat to us and he had to be watched closely by Miller and Lewis Stevenson as he drifted from flank to flank.

We were limited to half-chances in first 45 as Will Fish saw a shot from the edge of the area blocked before Marco Burch did well to knock the ball behind to prevent Vente scoring from Le Fondre’s cross.

We grew stronger and stronger as the half wore on and after 41 minutes a floated free-kick delivery from Newell was nodded down by Paul Hanlon to Fish, however his first-time volley was blocked.

Then a terrific shot by Boyle from 25-yards had to be acrobatically tipped over the crossbar by Pascal Loretz as the Luzern goalkeeper was called into action for his first meaningful save of the evening.

Yet, on the cusp of half-time it took a stunning block from Newell to divert a net-bound shot from Pius Dorn over the crossbar. The Luzern right back arrived late in the box to meet a cut back from the left and must’ve thought he was scoring only for Newell to deny him.

Obita replaced Youan during the interval as the second half started with a bang. Just 19 seconds had been played when Vente cushioned a pass into the path of Newell and the midfielder curled an exquisite finish into the top left corner of Loretz's goal.

We pressed for a quick-fire second goal and went close through a Fish header and then an angled drive from Le Fondre.

Just when it appeared to be going our way, we were hit by a sucker-punch when Beka glanced a near post corner beyond Marshall to restore parity.

The visitors had their tails up following the equaliser and wasted a good opportunity to take the lead when Nicky Beloko burst clear on the left and from his cutback, Lars Villiger should have scored but instead sliced his shot across goal.

Tempers were boiling over with Max Meyer and Kemal Ademi both picking up cautions that on another day could have been red cards before Newell sparked a melee when he leathered the ball off striker Ademi in the middle of the park.

With 18 minutes remaining we regained our advantage as the roof was once more blown off the stadium. This time Le Fondre’s looping cross caught out Loretz and his defence as Vente rose unchallenged to head home on his debut.

There was no relenting in the pace of the game as Luzern looked to hit back quickly with Ardon Jashari’s rising shot worrying Marshall as it flew just over the crossbar.

Then, incredibly, the woodwork was struck twice inside a minute. First, Doidge slid in to meet a Boyle cross ahead of the diving Loretz only to be denied by the upright before Luzern raced up the field and Dorn’s stunning effort beat Marshall before crashing back off the crossbar.

Into the final ten minutes and Fish, who could have had a hat-trick, headed wide once more.

Luzern made it a nervy finale as they piled the pressure with substitute Chader’s shot blocked by skipper Hanlon.

That pressure was relieved massively when Obita stole possession from Burch on halfway and burst clear on goal. He drew Loretz before slotting it into the far corner, via a slight deflection, to spark wild scenes of celebration.

Jake Doyle-Hayes almost put the icing on the cake deep into time added on when he evaded three challenges in the middle of the park before attempting to lob Loretz from halfway. It was ambitious and didn’t come off however, it showed the confidence flowing through our side.

The final whistle was greeted by a wall of noise as huge performances all over the park from our boys this evening mean we will take a two-goal lead with us next week to Switzerland.

Hibernian: Marshall, Miller, Hanlon, Fish, Levitt (Doyle-Hayes 85’), Youan (Obita 46’), Vente (Melkersen 73’), Boyle (Jeggo 82’), Newell, Stevenson, Le Fondre (Doidge 73’). Substitutes not used: Boruc, Henderson, Harbottle, Delferriere, Campbell, Bushiri, McAllister.

FC Luzern: Loretz, Jashari, Meyer, Spadanuda (Ottiger 54’), Okou (Villiger 54’), Frydek, Beloko, Dorn, Beka, Burch, Ademi (Chader 79’). Substitutes not used: Heller, Vasic, Jaquz, Simani, Kadak, Ankrah, Ulrich, Meyer, Rupp.

Referee: Robertas Valikonis.

Attendance: 13,075.